New Ulm weekly review., 1887-11-23

visits to Annie and engage miners for
the work, and then he rushed out to
l the Moonlight, !" to take up his abode
there while lesuperinte ntending the putting
lin of the drive. He built himself q
sod and grass house, or rather hut. on
I the hill above the reef, not choos-
ing to live near the river where
Floyd's camp had been pitched, for
1 our hero had more than a bowing ac-
! qualntance with African fevers, and
knew the unhealthlness of the lands.
Early and late he was at his work,
4 overlooking every operation and en-.
couraging his men by his cheertulness
and industry. 1t was hard, dusty,
/ unpleasant toll, in extremes of tenn
perature, where you were always too
hot OF shiYer'ng with cold, exposed
to blazing sun, to bitter frost, to dust
laden winds, or tremendous thunder
storms. The life. too, was solitary
and uncongenial. He had no com
panions but the rough miners and
katirs working under him. He would
not waste his time by going to Bar.
berton, and for all news OF Annie had
to content himself with her weekly
letters, which We're always so cheerful
and full Of simple trust and love.
How they made him long for q
glimpse of her! Yet he was not un-
happy; as each hot, toilsome day
came to an end he reflected that he
was one day nearer his happiness, one
day nearer the joyful moment when
ne could go to Annie and tell her that
drudgery and anxiety were over for
her, and that henceforth she should
do as she would, her life was before
her, and he only longed to crafty her
every wish. These hopes and
visions kept him through that long
period when it seemed as if their labor
only became more and more difficult.
1t was no easy task, tunneling into
that stiff, unyielding material, and the
work which had appeared so light,
when Floyd spoke Of it, proved very
heavy as they proceeded with it. It
required three tries to get to the reef,
and much time and patience were ex-
! pended over it, but a t last they reach
ed it. They struck the reef at depth
of a hundred feet from the top, exact
| ly as Floyd had advised them to do.
Dick had very little rest that night.
he was too excited to sleep. The ex.
pertinent Of it's worth at that depth
was to be made al sunrise, and he was
SO full OF hope. he anticipated 80 rich
| a reward for his trouble that his hap
piness seemed to stiAe him. If the re-
suit OF the panning showed very good
prospects, he would be off to Barber
ton the next day. He had no doubt of
its prospecting we'll, but if the result
should be another such a prospect as
FloYd's best pan had shown! At the
first streak Of dawn he rushed out of
his hut and called up his men to be-
gin the important task.
Some hours later on, that same
day, Dick stood among his miners
wondering vaguely if the sun had
really in the same world
as he had been i'll yesterday. Before
him lay the results oftheir ex xperiments
on The stone taken from the bottom
OF the reef. It had been crushed and
panned by one of his men who
thoroughly knew his business. 1t had
been carefully watched and treated,
and the result SO eagerly looked for
was-nil. In technical language not
"colom" was to be got out OF it. As
one of the miners remarked, ''you
might as we'll have panned q bar of
soap"
To the men it was a. great disap-
pointment. No one likes to dig for
naught, but to Dick the blow was over
whelming TO begin with, it was so
unexpected. He had never had a
moments doubt as to the value ofhis
reef. He had tried not to be too hope
full, but complete failure he had never
contemplated. He thought of Annie
with a sickening feeling of despair. and
he remembered that not only all his
own savings were swallowed up in the
affair, but his joyful accounts had in
duced friend OF his to lend him his
little hoard on the strength of it. He
thought on these things, as he gazed
at the useless stone before him with
the blank look of utter misery. "Nev-
er mind, SIR" said the eldest OF
his men, trying to rouse his mas
ter, whose face, as he after
wards told friend. looked like
a mans would who meant to walk
4 into theriver by accident" "Don'tyou
give up Mr.. Carew," he continued.
/ perhaps we're too far down; let's have
a crush of the stuff that chap tried on
top. It showed good for him, it ought
to do the same for u.s.
| The other men joined their voices
to his, partly because they wanted to
cheer Dick up, whom they greatly re-
spected, and also because they did
like to be beaten. They were not very
hopeful though. They had looked
very crest-fallen. when the experiment
failed, and had exchanged mods and
winks, which conveyed world of
meaning, among themselves. and had
Mr.. Floyd been present he would have
been in some personal danger. They
| were silent as to their suspicious be-
fore Dick. but when he had dismissed
them with a promise to try the upper
/ part OF the reef the next day, they
held q little paiaver among themselves
1 lx, Al a .,;~.o. 4Lo .r1a1 uCo1tolu